Is the Web Killing Good Writing?

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I’ve been a writer since high school. It started with some really lame attempts at humor for the school paper, followed by some slightly less lame attempts at news and feature writing for the college paper. Since then I’ve held a series of positions in which writing has been an integral part of the job description. I’ve done annual reports, newsletters, brochures, direct mail and all the other projects that come with a job in marketing or communications.

I’ve always taken pride in my work. That isn’t to say I’ve been satisfied with everything I’ve written. Far from it. But I’ve been pretty conscientious in my efforts to turn out high-quality results. And my employers and clients have almost always been pleased even when I’ve been less than satisfied.

I consider writing to be a craft that, while many can manage competence, few are really good at it. It isn’t that the many couldn’t do a better job of it, it’s just that, for whatever reason, they choose not to invest the time and energy into improving the quality of their prose. Writing is easy; it’s the rewriting that’s a bitch. Turning the lathe until the shape is just right takes practice, and most people obviously don’t consider it worth the effort.

That’s fine by me. As long as there are those who value what I do and are willing to pay for it, I’m OK with being an ant among the grasshoppers. Unfortunately, the number of those who prize high-quality writing seems to be dwindling rapidly.

When did good writing become such a devalued commodity? The explosion of the internet as a communications ecosystem is a major culprit. Now that everyone has access to the printing press, we’re flooded with writing that no one in his right mind would ever pay to publish. That may be one of the reasons that most writers find it difficult to earn a living wage these days.

Worse yet, there’s a whole cottage industry of coaches and blogging “experts” whose own writing frankly doesn’t compare favorably to the lesser published writing guides. Say what you will about that dinosaur book publishing industry. At least they have editors. And fact checkers. And writers worth publishing.

Seems to me that there are two problems and no immediate solutions. First, the instantaneous “press Publish” nature of online writing has encouraged greater laziness even among those who know better. We’re seeing a lot more first drafts and far fewer fifth drafts.

Second, while bad writing has always been with us, the web makes it far more visible and accessible. Remember that saying about not sharing every thought that pops into your head? Thanks to the web, you can record the thought, share it with the world and revisit it for all eternity.

P.S. This was pretty much a first-draft effort. OK, maybe second-draft. Just imagine how great this post would have been had I invested the time and effort it deserved. But hey … it’s just the web.

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